Project Management Life Cycle | BetterExplained

Pro-tip: Project Life Cycle can be different for any given project, while the Project Management Life Cycle is the same.

Most PMP (Project Management Professionals) aspirants get confused with these terms when preparing for the exam. Project Life Cycle and Project Management Life Cycle are significantly different terms.

Read More: Difference b/w Project & Product Life Cycle

What is Project Life Cycle?

“Life Cycle” is a unidirectional process. For example, the human life cycle is

-Conceive – Birth – Childhood – Teen-hood – Adulthood – Death

Now, if you see, this cannot go in the reverse direction.

Let’s see the example of a Plantlife that is

-Seed – Blossom – Plant – Decay

If you see, both of the above examples have different phases or stages.

In the same way, every project can have different stages and, of course, uni-directional project life cycle phases or stages.

Project Management Life Cycle

In PMI Project management, we deal with Process Groups (Project Management life cycle stages), and these are five, namely.

1. Initiation
2. Planning
3. Execution
4. Monitoring & Controlling
5. Closure

Now, PMI divides these processes within each process group into knowledge areas.

Knowledge areas are the areas of expertise or specialization.

Project Management Life Cycle | Detail

If you see the below schema, you can easily understand the Project Management stages/processes.

Initiation

Here, the Project charter is release. It includes the authority of a project manager to utilize resources to get optimum productivity.

Remember, this starts once feasibility is already done during the Project phase.

Planning

Here, you, as a project manager, make an extensive plan to get the job done. If required, you will hire a planner and other team players to make it more understandable. A plan should cover all the scope without any creep or gold plating.

Execution

You need to utilize your resources here to get the job done, as you have planned.

Monitoring & Controlling

Each deliverable produced in the execution should validate the as per scope and set quality standards. Work done in execution must comply with the plan.

Closure

Once the project is compiled, all given standards, and the client is OK with the result; then you can announce the closure and submit all lessons learned. Formal acceptance of the customer or the client is a must.

That is a brief introduction to the Project Management Life Cycle. I hope you have like it! If you have found any discrepancy, please write back to me, and I am happy to amend it.

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